


Choose, Choose Again

by Curlscat



Series: Coffehouse Blues [2]
Category: The Sisters Grimm - Michael Buckley
Genre: Gen, cindy does therapy for the whole town
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26225044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curlscat/pseuds/Curlscat
Summary: Two princesses walk into a coffee bar. The punchline is that they're forming healthy relationships.orBeauty asks for advice from the town's resident family counselor, but all she really wants is permission.
Series: Coffehouse Blues [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899850
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Choose, Choose Again

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted with MAJOR edits from ff.net, where it's titled "A Convergence of Princesses."

Cinderella Baxter entered Sacred Grounds with a longing look at the world outside. It was the first real day of spring, and her walk from the radio station to the coffee shop was all she’d seen of the sun that day. But Beauty had asked to see her, and, well… princesses had to stick together. Even princesses who didn’t have much in common.

Beauty wasn’t here yet, so Cindy got in line, ordered herself a large london fog, and gave Briar a quick smile. The place was too crowded for Cindy to waste Briar’s time—or anyone else’s, for that matter—with small talk. The big row of windows along the streetside wall had a chair open, so Cindy sat down there to wait. She could at least  _ look _ at the lovely weather.

She, personally, would’ve chosen somewhere else to meet. The park, for example. But Sacred Grounds was  _ the _ place to meet in Ferryport Landing if you had taste. And Beauty certainly had taste.

Cindy was a good inch down in her london fog by the time Beauty arrived, looking more frazzled than usual. By this, Cindy meant her hair was in a ponytail and her shirt was untucked. Beauty scanned the room, locked onto Cindy as her target, and wove through the crowd in a way that looked a lot more effortless than it was. She deposited a bag onto the chair opposite Cindy, patted the dog who poked its head out from the top, and changed course for the counter without pausing. Or saying hello.

“Well,” Cindy said mildly to the dog. “Your mother’s certainly in a hurry, isn’t she?”

Beauty returned a few minutes later. “Right,” she said. “Well. I’ll just get right into it, then. I need you to… do your thing.”

Cindy stared blankly across the table for a moment, trying to make sure she was interpreting this correctly. "You want my advice?"

Beauty nodded.

"When have you ever needed my help with anything?" Cindy asked. "I thought I was 'too focused on interpersonal issues' for your tastes. Lord forbid I choose my fairy godmother’s feelings over my wardrobe!"

"Well, see, I may sort of have an interpersonal issue now." Beauty said. "And you may sort of have me beat on that front."

"Probably." Cindy smiled a little, and sat back in her chair. “It’s sort of my whole career.”

“How’s that going?” Beauty asked. “Did you get that—certificate? Counseling license?”

“Not yet,” Cindy said. “Still working on that degree in psychotherapy. Getting them to let me do it online is harder than you’d—”

“Triple espresso latte?” Mallowbarb’s voice rang out, clear above the background noise of the restaurant. Cindy half suspected she was using magic to make sure the intended recipient of the drink heard their order. She could simply be that loud, though.

“Oh, that’s me,” Beauty said, standing and rushing away before Cindy could finish.

“—think,” Cindy finished, fighting not to roll her eyes.

The purse dog yipped and wagged its tail at her. It was adorable, more fur than dog from the looks of things, with a little bow holding the hair out of its eyes. A much better listener than its owner. But that was to be expected. Cindy had always been the good listener, no matter who she was around.

Well. With the exception of Tom. Tom who loved her for her beauty, of course, because everyone loved her for that, but who also loved her for what she had to say, for her passions for helping. Tom who was the only person who knew how selfish she could be, who encouraged her in that.

Beauty sailed back, overcaffienated drink in perfectly manicured hand. She sat across from Cindy and said, “Sorry, you were saying?”

“Nothing important,” Cindy said with a little wave. “But what’s got you triple-espresso stressed?”

"The Beast." Beauty said with a sigh. "We're having... difficulties."

This was interesting. Beauty and the Beast were one of the oldest couples in Ferryport Landing, and they had never had any issues before. Cindy leaned forward. She and Beauty might not be friends or anything like that, but trouble in paradise was something Cindy cared about for benevolent reasons  _ and _ for the secret nosey part of herself that just wanted in on the juicy details.

"It really started getting tense around when we got Natalie—our daughter, you know—back from Rumplestiltskin. But things have been changing since before she even disappeared. He's never been the calmest of men, you know, and being trapped here hasn't been good for him, and he's getting... angry again. Especially in the past fifteen years or so."

"Ah." Cindy said. "Has he hurt you?" More blunt than she usually was, but, well. She wasn’t getting paid for this. Not even in ad revenue.

Beauty shook her head. "Never. Not even at his worst. But... he's not  _ friendly _ anymore. And he breaks things. He made Natalie cry the other day, he said something so cruel. And no matter how sorry he was after, that’s just unacceptable."

"You're not defending him," Cindy noticed. Beauty, it seemed, was going to be as blunt as Cindy herself. "A lot of wives try to soften things for me, even when they’re trying to fix the issue."

"But what's the point of that?" Beauty’s perfectly shaped brows pulled together in confusion. "If I don't tell you what the problem is, you can't tell me how to fix it." She took a long drag of her coffee.

"Most women feel they should defend their husbands," Cindy explained. "They love them, and they don't want me to think badly of them.”

“Huh,” Beauty said.

“Mm,” Cindy agreed. 

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Cindy took another indulgent sip of her london fog. Delicious. Didn’t mix too well with the overpowering scent of coffee, but if she kept it close enough to her face, she could drown out one smell with the other. For a bit, Cindy felt carried away in a sea of impenetrable voices, like she was wrapped in the fog her drink was named after. Then she burned her tongue.

“Is there anything else you're not telling me, by the way?" She asked, once she was done wincing.

"No, that's about all." Beauty said. Then, still right to the point: "What should I do?"

"What are your options?" Cindy asked. "Do you want to see if you can work through it, or have you had enough of this, or...?"

"I don't know," Beauty grumbled. "Isn't that what you're for?"

"Well, I can offer advice and suggestions, but if you don't know what you want..." Cindy trailed off with a shrug. She took another sip of tea. “Do you want to come back with the Beast and try to talk things out? I do group sessions."

"I'm not positive we  _ can _ work it out," Beauty said. "He doesn't seem to want to talk anymore."

"Then maybe you should get some distance." Cindy suggested. "Take a breather for a little while, then see how things are. If the break makes you realize how much you two need each other, then you can try to work through your problems. If if doesn't, well... maybe you're not right for each other anymore."

“But what if I do, and I want to, but he keeps hurting Natalie?”

“Well,” Cindy said, “I have a bit of a bias about that sort of thing, what with my personal history. And that bias would say you should protect your child over your husband. If he’s willing to work to fix things, though, I could probably help you figure out a way to save your daughter and your marriage.”

Beauty made a face. “I don’t think he’s interested in that.” She gave Cindy a hopeful look. “Don’t suppose me walking out would be a wake-up call for him?”

Cindy shrugged. “It might. But I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“I thought as much,” Beauty said with a wry smile.

“People have to want to change for themselves,” Cindy said. “Not for other people. Otherwise it won’t stay.”

Beauty smiled at Cindy. "Thank you."

"For what?" Cindy asked, pulling back a little. She hadn’t really given Beauty anything Beauty didn’t seem to already know.

"You listened." Beauty said. "You didn't mock me, or tell me my problems were stupid. Or lord your own happy marriage over me. You acted like... a friend."

"Maybe we should be." Cindy suggested. "Hard times are coming, and we could all use a few more friends."

Beauty smiled. "I'd like that."

Cindy held up her mug for a toast, and Beauty clanked her own against it, gently. Outside, things blossomed.

**Author's Note:**

> boy is cindy gonna be REAL happy she didn't lord her happy marriage over beauty in a month when her husband almost destroys the time stream bc he's upset that he's geriatric and she's not


End file.
